You may have already heard the news, but if you haven’t, here it is: I’m back at the Producer.

I served as this paper’s managing editor for over four years, and in the spring of 2019, I left to work for another nearby newspaper. I did not relocate when I took the new job; I chose to make the 60-mile round trip each day.

My experience at the other paper was far from unpleasant, but when I was afforded the opportunity to work closer to home, it was a no-brainer. I’m overjoyed to be back “home.”

My roots with the Seminole Producer run very deep. In 1976, I followed in the footsteps of my older brother, Jerry, and became a carrier. At first, I had a small route that covered Highland, Park and Eureka streets, from Strother northward.

I soon “graduated” to a larger route that began on Coolidge, just south of Lee Street, and went west to Harding. It included all the streets in between that are north of Strother. In fact, I delivered papers to the very house I live in today, which is located on McKinley.

In addition to being a paperboy, I worked as an “inserter” on weekends. Early Saturday afternoon, a crew, comprised mainly of teenagers, would gather in the back room of the Producer and manually put the Sunday paper together section by section, beginning with the very back section, which was printed first.

In between press runs, we would go mill around at Tennessee Joe’s or Wall’s Bargain Center to see what treasures we could find. When dinner time rolled around, we would grab a burger from either Sooner Drug or Pat’s Cafe, which was just around the corner.

The insert room had a little loft right above it, which made a perfect hangout for us when we had a little down time.

Admittedly, we had fun and sometimes got into a bit of mischief, but we got the job done. We had the utmost respect for our beloved publisher, Milt Phillips, and letting him down was out of the question. (Milt was also on my route, and you can rest assured that the paper always landed on his porch and not in his bushes or on his roof).

I moved away from Seminole in 1989 and my journey “back home” began in the fall of 2014. I was living in Houston and had reached a crossroads in life. At the urging of my big sister, Carolyn, I made the decision to move back to Seminole.

Within minutes of posting to Facebook that I was moving, Stu Phillips, who I had known since 1969, reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in working for him. I said “yes,” and about four weeks later, I was in the newsroom. That was simply the easiest job interview I have ever had.

I am thrilled to once again be a part of this incredible newspaper. As the old saying goes, “there’s no place like home.” I could not agree more